@allthingsarebecomenew For me, I’ve always figured if I’m there, and made the effort to get there it’s a massive waste to half ass the work. I get up at 4am 6 days a week to work out so I’ll be damned if I’m going to not make that count.
@allthingsarebecomenew I think it’s more about discipline to be honest. If you’re waiting to start loving each workout and looking forward to them you’ll be waiting a while. More often than not I find it’s like punching a clock and getting it done. I definitely look forward to some of them. Even love the work. But other days I hear my alarm, whisper “fuck off” at the Universe and swing my legs off the bed. Lol. Motivation is a finite resource. It runs out. But once you develop the discipline that’s what will carry you! Good luck friend. You’ve got this I know it!!
@allthingsarebecomenew Why do you want to get stronger? What's the motivation to do it at all? Without a concrete goal in mind it's easy to just kind of flounder around gym. So a specific goal is a good idea. And I agree with following a pre-planned program so you don't have to put the THINKING into it, which is a big drain.
But also... you're barely into making it a consistent habit. You're going regularly for 6 months! That's awesome! Strength comes slowly, so cut yourself a break. The big thing is that you're going. Half assing is SOOOO much better than no assing.
@heartofberries Even though I am not OP, I would like to thank you for your statement “half-assing is better than no-assing.” I’ve long struggled with black or white thinking, especially around fitness, so that statement is exactly what I needed to hear. Half-assing some days enables me to full-ass the other days.
@heartofberries Thanks for the “half-assing is better than no-assing” because that’s so hard to remember.
As for WHY, that’s a great question. My goals are very… ephemeral I guess. I want to be stronger so that I can live life more fully and be able to do activities even up into old age. I want my joints to feel good, I want my muscles to carry me with energy to spare no matter what I choose to do—kayaking, hiking, climbing, jumping, roller blading, frisbee with friends, picking up my kids in the future, etc.
So it’s tough without a short term goal. Maybe I need to find a short term goal to pursue
@allthingsarebecomenew This is all so helpful to read cause I’m in a similar position, feeling like I need a short term goal or even a more specific sport/activity to train for
@allthingsarebecomenew Define hard. Do you want to get a good sweat going? Or do you want a pump? Or do you want to lift heavy AF?
For me what motivates me to go hard is planning to go hard. My main lift for every day is a powerlifting-style progression that looks as follows (based on % of your 1RM, pick the nearest 5lb increment):
1x10 - bar (warmup for the movement pattern)
1x10 - 45%
1x8-10 - 60%
3x5 - 75%
1x3 - 80%
1x2 - 85% (optional depending on how I'm feeling)
1x1 - 90% (optional depending on how I'm feeling)
1x8-10 - 60%(optional depending on how I'm feeling)
1x10 - 45%
Yeah it means my first movement takes the better part of 20 minutes to get through, but the heavy triples, doubles, and singles to top out the workout get me hyped up just by being so damn heavy. It's more than enough of a pump up moment to do the rest of my day hard.
If you just want to break a sweat, take a class and let the motivation be the instructor's problem.
@dawn16 Good question, and one that’s tough to answer. I guess I kind of half ass everything except my rests lol. I want to lift heavy(er), get my heart rate up, and sweat. I do all of these things currently, but I feel like not enough. I’m not lifting as heavy as I know I physically can, I’m not moving to the edge of my cardio zone, I’m not completing all exercises in my program each day because there are some I just don’t want to do at all.
Its probably a good idea for me to start by doing just one lift per day that I’m not phoning it in on, then after a few weeks of that progress to trying to do 2 at full capacity
(Note that when I say full capacity I don’t necessarily mean lifting as heavy as possible, because you shouldn’t do that on every lift anyways. I just mean lifting the amount I should lift for the day instead of taking off 10-15 lbs because I don’t feel like lifting the prescribed weight)
@allthingsarebecomenew In your case it sounds like it's not a motivation one, but a discipline one. You have a program, so listen to it.
Some days are going to be off days and that's just part of life, but if every day is an off day, it's time for some self reflection IMO. Are you doing this because you want to? Because you feel like you have to? Do you enjoy it? Are you punishing yourself for putting on weight and then slacking because your heart wasn't in it in the first place? These are things only you can answer.
@dawn16 Totally agree about the self reflection. I’m definitely working out because I know I should. Not for weight purposes but because I know the benefits are so numerous. But feeling like I have to is different from wanting to. I’m working on finding a way to WANT to work out. Luckily I’ve had enough discipline up til now to keep getting into the gym but I guess I’ll need to build up to even MORE discipline!
On a personal note— something about myself is that I never really had to try that hard at many things growing up. I tried hard at my sports where I was externally motivated by a coach, but didn’t try much in school or in my hobbies because I didn’t need to.
I think that not learning to try hard for MYSELF (not a coach) is now affecting me later in life because I now have to learn that skill as an adult. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with also needing some external motivation from a class instructor or a gym buddy. I bet adding in some workout classes will help with some of this, as well as just building up my discipline muscle
@allthingsarebecomenew Proper nutrition before workouts for fuel, B12 liquid energy shots for extra energy and the music choices are key. Right now you're building endurance. Everything takes time! Stick with it!
@allthingsarebecomenew If I had to find actual motivation to go workout, I would probably go to the gym like 1 day a week, especially being a uni student. I just kind of gotten into the mindset of “at 5:30AM you wake up and walk to the gym and lift heavy things.” I’m a logic-based person, so I let my logic make me do stuff. Like, even if I don’t FEEL like doing last week’s working weight, I logically know that I am capable and can do it even if it feels harder, and so then I’m like “well we’re doing it ig” and it’s fine.
I also have it in my schedule for hard and easy days. Monday and Tuesday I know I am putting in the work. Thursday and Friday I don’t do super heavy compounds and focus more on higher rep stuff and accessories or just stuff I like. Wednesday and weekends are my running days, which I find much more restful as my brain does not have to think so much. You could take a look at your program to see if you want to modify or switch it if it’s not structured how your brain works best.
@allthingsarebecomenew I do what my program tells me to do. What program are you following? Perhaps it's time for a different one that fits you better!
@cg828 Right now I’m following the Natasha ocean MOVE program, which I like well enough. I bought it a while ago so I wanted to use it before switching to another program so as not to waste my money. But after this one I may go searching for another program to switch it up.
Yeah but I keep not doing all the exercises prescribed because some of them I hate, but I struggle with then replacing those exercises with similar ones, so I end up cutting my workout short. Maybe a mort straight forward program would reduce the amount of exercises im skipping
@allthingsarebecomenew I'm a 5 am'r and it's music for me. I also am hyper-competitive, so lifting more than I lifted last time is always a goal.
I'm currently training for an Oly open, and when my coach puts extra weight on the bar he says, "time to get violent" at which point I think of something that pisses me off, and the weight flies up. There's sometimes some grunting and/or shouting involved, too, which is new and weird for me, but it definitely helps me get hyped.
I definitely need more protein in my diet!